Better than you might think...

As a strictly non-religious moviegoer, when I saw this movie starting
on late-night cable TV I merely intended to view it for whatever
entertainment value (and potential kitsch quality) it might provide. I
was very surprised at the solid competency that is apparent throughout,
especially in both scriptwriting and acting (in spite of sometimes
obvious budget constraints.) Believe it or not, the main characters are
pretty well delineated and easy to identify with as everyday working
people. The script doesn't really hit you over the head with too much
Christian dogma; in fact the general public's discomfort with such
religious themes is portrayed realistically a few times, most notably
when the main character asks the bartender (in the later bar scene) not
to switch the TV away from Billy Graham's televised sermon (out of
curiosity), but a few moments later he gives in after the bartender
complains that the program is making the other patrons uncomfortable.

The main character is well-played by John Milford, and I found his work
to be quite moving at times as the struggling family provider who is
being pulled in many directions simultaneously (career, family,
self-fulfillment, religious faith?); I think the high point of his work
in this film may be the scenes in the hospital during which his
character rudely yells at the 'saintly' doctor, primarily due to his
character's extreme worry and frustration over his son's serious
medical condition; his portrayal of unrestrained grief that follows is
almost shocking in its vulnerability. This actor does a fine job, and
his dark, 1950s-era good looks even add a bit of brooding depth to his
character's difficult emotional journey.

I also found Georgia Lee's work in this film to be quite effective and
rewarding; her pert, glowing, red-haired sweetness only adds to the
attractive combination of sincerity and intelligence that allows her
urban housewife character to be seen as particularly well-grounded. I
especially was struck by the emotional truth she expresses during the
party scene, when she is called upon to defend her budding religious
beliefs against the cynical remarks of the 'callous urban
sophisticates' (much to the chagrin of her husband, who's trying to
score a few integrity points with the boss and his new business
client.) Ms. Lee expresses her character's nervous hesitation perfectly
during these moments; you can practically feel the adrenaline coursing
through her body as she faces potential ridicule from these "important"
strangers, all the while knowing that she is garnering certain disfavor
in the eyes of her husband.

As an appreciation of deft acting and solid character portrayal, I feel
that this movie excels far more often than it disappoints. The scenes
depicting Graham's vintage sermons at Madison Square Garden are
relatively short, and are therefore not too intrusive into the main
storyline.

Although I was left unaffected by this film's religious overtones, the
grief and fear expressed by the main characters as they struggle to
deal with the serious illness of their young son actually haunted me
for a few days afterward, and I still remember certain scenes fondly
for their commendably effective theatrical construction. Ethel Waters
is quite an enjoyable presence throughout this movie, both for her
heartfelt renditions of some gospel standards (most notably "Sometimes
I Feel Like a Motherless Child"), and for her cheerful portrayal of the
ideal nurse/nanny character who watches over the sick little child. The
young actor playing the sick boy is surprisingly restrained in his
role, too; there is often a tendency to overplay such a focus of
parental worry in stories such as this one, but this actor is fairly
upbeat without being cloying.

I certainly want to find out who directed this movie; I suspect that
its consistent high quality in the areas that matter most when working
with a small budget, plus its gentle, non-threatening (& refreshingly
non-hysterical) thematic nature, are also due in large part to the
talents behind the camera.

An added draw for fans of 1960s TV series will be enjoying a bit of
supporting work from the likes of a youthful and endearingly quirky
Alvy Moore (Hank Kimball on "Green Acres" (1965)). Also appearing is
Madge Blake (Aunt Harriet Cooper on "Batman" (1966/II)), who seems to
be giving us a sneak preview of Aunt Harriet, appearing in a mink coat
and diamonds...

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'Mad Men' Meets Billy Graham

The Billy Graham Team (as they are described in the credits) ran a
slick operation in the 1950s that could (and probably did) teach
Sterling Cooper a thing or two. This glossy colour feature from their
filmmaking arm World Wide Pictures boasts the considerable marquee
value of blues legend Ethel Waters, who is also seen drawing the
punters to Madison Square Garden as a warm up act for the Reverend
Graham himself.

The 1950s is today viewed as a deeply conservative era, but is
described by Billy Graham in this film as "a wicked and a perverse
generation", against which he advocates embracing Jesus as a act of
rebellion (a line he was still pursuing when I heard him speak in
Sheffield in 1985). The target in this film is rising young executive
Hal Foster (John Milford), subjected to the relentless pester power of
his pretty wife Joan (Georgia Lee) who, fresh from having just seen
Billy perform, reduces a party of important business associates
(including Batman's Aunt Harriet, Madge Blake) to embarrassed silence
by suddenly (and at great length) going all religious on them. With God
on Joan's side she eventually wears Hal down; and the Creator shows his
usual ruthlessness when he smells a potential convert by strategically
manipulating the chronic illness of their cute little son in Mysterious
Ways to break Hal's resistance when both father and son are at their
most vulnerable.

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1 out of 4 people found the following review useful:

surprisingly riveting

It's Thanksgiving weekend, and I'm somewhat ill, so I'm wide awake in
the wee hours of Thanksgiving morning, and I'm in need of something to
remind me of the things I should be thankful for, and whom I should be
thankful to, so I'm flipping channels, and my local Christian network
TV station is showing something that I readily recognize as a
pre-ratings (and therefore, likely safe) flick that I've never seen
before, with a grandmotherly lady of indigenous African descent with a
wonderful voice raising praise in the form of a sweet Southern
Spiritual.

That captured me. Normally, it wouldn't necessarily. This morning, it
did.

And, it worked.

The story was so-so, the resolution was predictable, the special
effects and props were few, but the lines and acting were superb, which
is what Drama's all about in the first place. So good was it, that even
though I predicted the resolution long before half way, at the climax,
It could easily have going in a variety of other directions, so it was
by no means a cheesy mono-dimensional storyline, and I found myself
pleasantly more riveted than I had expected.

The least entertaining, least riveting, least rewarding parts of the
film, however, was the incorporation of footage of a renowned
televangelist. Personally, I have nothing major against that ministry
nor that style of televangelism, but that televangelistic style
appeared to clash with the acting styles of the entire cast. It just
didn't quite fit. Although that might have been a selling point at the
time this flick was produced, I believe it would have been a much more
entertaining and therefor, reaching flick, without it.